Great idea adding the Z into the mix. I must respect a bike that has the Z's abililty at half the cost of the others.The video commentary is a great addition to these reviews. They add a descriptive dimension and quality you would not have otherwise. You lucky bastards. Keep up the good work.

Of the three the Kawasaki seems like the best deal. I have to agree with Jeff, the nearly $10k price difference will buy a nice set of GIVI cases top box and different windshield if needed. $20k for the VFR would be a tough pill to swallow specially with all the goodies optional instead of standard, I'd choose a number of different bikes based on price alone. While the Honda appears to be a stellar performer I personally would go with a known quantity like an R1200RT or Triumph Sprint GT or Tiger, both brands that I've had excellent luck with before I'd drop $20k on a brand and model I've had bad luck with.

That leaves the Ducati, at one time I had a serious Jones for a 900SS and ST2, I'm afraid my Italian lust these days is more focused on Moto Guzzi, still the Multi appears to be an excellent bike and the standard 33 in seat height would be nice.

Certainly they are all nice bikes. Not many bad bikes out there any more. We are living in the Golden Age of bikes.

"Incidentally, on its consumer website, Honda categorizes the VFR under Sport and not Sport-Touring."

Er, yes, I would categorize a 600lb bike as a "sport" bike too. (eyes rolling)

Sport touring is simply the act of using a sport style bike as a tourer, right? For that matter an SV650 could be a sport tourer by adding a shield and some luggage. The people who think they need a bike that the manufacturer calls a "sport-tourer" to actually be on a sport-tourer have missed the boat. It can get weird to the point where the brobdingnagian Honda ST1300 is called a sport-tourer.

I guess it boils down to just how much sport you want with your tourer and the term "sport tourer" becomes essentially meaningless. Personally I gravitate to lighter bikes like the Duc or SprintST. I used my 2000 ZRX1100 as an ST for a couple years. Never felt deprived. YMMV.

The only thing that really causes concern is that I see the heavy electronics/sensor packages to be probable huge maintenance costs down the road. Time will tell, but I'd let someone else beta test these things.

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"Make no mistake, Communism lost a big argument - one we know today as the 20th century."

The Z could just as well fit the Every Bike category, or the what-ever-else category. As pointed out, by Seruzawa, many good choices abound. Many bikes will go the distance. If a rider has experience and knows what to do, any number of bikes could be converted to be a terrific sport tourer. I do not need someone to do my thinking for me. When they do, they add complexity, weight and cost, and soon the "sport" side of things is being compromised in the equation. The aftermarket has high-rise adjustable clip-ons, hard/soft waterproof luggage, windscreen options, on and on ... The Z1000 is merely a blank slate with a well-priced literbike at its heart. We could have done the same thing with a CBR1000RR with C-ABS. You could kit that bike up with hi/lo adjustable clip-on bars, hard bags, high screen, etc., and conservatively come in 100 lbs or so under the big Viffer with the best ABS on the market. Or, if that doesn't sound appealing, pick your bike of choice and make your own ultimate ...

Hate to sound like an ol fart but I think simpler is easier. I know one day all motorcycles will have a fancy suspension similar to the multistrada's. However I think I will wait on the sidelines and let all the bugs get worked out before I jump in. These days the all the electronic black boxes seem to cost more than the mechanical hard parts. So what we could have is a motorcycle that is "totaled" because the magical black box parts cost more than the value of the bike.

This article contains some major misinformation with regard to the capabilities of Ducati's electronic suspension system:

Quote:

Taking the Duc’s electronic load setting to its firmest load setting (two riders w/luggage) seemed like too much preload, as over rough pavement the front wasn’t as forgiving. And as Kevin remarked during our ride, the increased front preload actually slowed turn-in response somewhat since the fork wasn’t allowed to compress as much – reducing rake – when transitioning between turns.

DES does not affect preload on the front, it only adjusts the rear. Front preload can still be adjusted on the Multistrada, but you have to break out the wrenches and do it manually. Perhaps you did so and neglected to mention it? If not, the slower turn-in response was either imagined or the result of something other than the front preload setting. I would guess that it was a result of the rear of the bike being slightly lower since the spring was more compressed.

Quote:

Despite the convenience of electronically adjusted suspenders, whether it’s BMW’s or Ducati’s system (and who knows what else is around the corner), suspension tuning by the average rider/owner of these motorcycles is limited to the preprogrammed settings. The ability to fine-tune settings specific to a particular rider is still the realm of standard adjustable suspension.

This is true of BMW's ESA system, but for Ducati's DES it is completely false. DES allows you customize every individual parameter of each of the four main modes for each load condition. You can set compression and rebound to values from 1 to 32, and rear preload from 1-16. Apart from the suspension settings you can also change the engine map (150hp low, 150hp high, 100hp), and traction control (8 settings). ABS can also be disabled, but this must be done every time you start the bike. All other parameters are remembered across starts.

This long after the bike's launch, and with all the articles that have been written about it, I was really surprised to see an article come out that completely missed this feature. I hope you see fit to issue a correction so that your readers are not misinformed.